Editor's note: Comedians are talking funny to CNN about various topics, and we offer them for laughs in this feature of This JEST In.

(CNN) -- When he came into our makeshift hotel suite studio in Chicago, Chris Hardwick quickly developed a mild love affair with a bowl of mixed nuts that we placed near his chair. And for a while he even considered keeping the snacks in his hand throughout the interview.

"I want to just hold a bowl of nuts the entire time and not really explain it."

However, in the end he placed it back on the table, with a simple, "That's dumb."

And, thus, we launched into a spirited conversation about what a huge dork he is. Because, apparently, when you're the son of a professional bowler (for real) you naturally develop a passion for the uncool.

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Sometimes that passion leads to a lonely, sexless life spent in your parents' basement, but, in this case, it manifested itself in the form of one of the biggest names in nerddom.

"I just kind of one day was like, 'Why am I not working around this kind of thing?' And it just so happened that G4 existed and it all fell together."

Soon he was hosting a new show called "Web Soup," modeled after E!'s show "The Soup." Whereas the latter concentrates on pop culture and notable television moments, Hardwick's new endeavor became a showcase for the best (and worst) of the Web.

However, "Web Soup" perhaps wasn't quite nerdy enough, so in 2010 Hardwick continued doing the show while also launching a new weekly interview podcast called "The Nerdist."